Safe for Now?

Congress has intervened on Terri Shiavo's behalf -- well sort of. What they have done is to give Terri's case standing in a Federal Court. The feeding tube has not, however, been reinserted-- its been about 3 days since she's had food or water.

I suppose there are some legal implications for this case, some of which may be bad, i.e. separation of powers issues. I won't pretend to know much about the legal ramifications of the bill the house passed, and President Bush signed yesterday.

I do, however have an opinion on Shiavo's case itself, and it seems clear she should live.

Terri is constantly described as being in a persistent vegetative state. Although this may be accurate, it is far from proven, and at least to most people, misleading. First of all Terri is not in a coma as a layman would infer from the description of her condition. She has suffered brain damage and she will not be returning to the Terri she was before she suffered this damage. But that's not to say her life has no meaning. She is awake and moves around. Her family also says she smiles and responds to stimuli. Apparently some of these responses may be reflexive, but they certainly give indication that Terri may still have cognitive abilities.

What has not been done, but should, is an MRI scan. It is often misreported that an MRI has been done, but what has actually been done is a CT scan. I'm no expert but from what I've read, the CT scan is like a blurry picture, containing much less information an clarity, where as an MRI is like clear picture. Many experts, in this case 30 plus experts, agree that more should be done to make sure there is no cognition, and a full MRI scan would help in this regard.

Why has one not been done? Because Terri Shiavo's husband has fought it every step of the way. It seems that the relatives of a loved one in a predicament such as Terri's, would want to explore every avenue to make sure Terri has no cognitive ability, and that there is no hope of even partial recovery. In this respect Michael Shiavo, Terri's husband, has shown a suspicious lack of curiosity/concern. In fact it has been Michael who at every turn objects to any action that would show Terri can improve, or that would attempt to help here recover.

In addition, Michael has, what appears on the surface, a conflict of interests. Despite the fact that he is still married to Terri, Michael lives with another woman, with whom he has fathered two children. Is it two sinister of me to infer that Michael's coincidental fighting of the good fight for Terri's 'right to die,' coinciding with Michael's own perceived interests for closure etc., is not actually coincidental at all?

At the moment it appears Michael will get what he, and what he represents as Terri's desire -- that is, Terri's death. But lets not deceive ourselves. Terri' "life support" is a feeding tube, in other words, the same thing that supports both your and my life -- food and water. No she can't eat by herself, but neither can any baby. The point being, life support typically is thought of as a machine that helps you breath, or that pumps your blood, something that, without, you die in a few minutes.

Terri's death will not be that quick, for this "mercy killing" will take place over approximately 12 days as Terri slowly starves to death. Just as any normal person would suffer if denied food or water, so too will Terri. Her tongue and lips will crack and her nose will bleed from dehydration. In fact shooting Terri would be much more merciful than what it looks as though Terri will have to go through.

Terri's life may not be worth living, but lets not kid ourselves about what is going on here, someone is being starved to death. If I am ever in a similar situation, please spare me from this kind of "mercy."